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She grinned. "We're back to curiosity, then."
"It would seem, yes. Do you want to rest?"
"I'd love to rest, if it was safe. My feet hurt in these boots."
"Then we will rest."
"Where? We're out in the open, anyone could find us, if they tried." She wailed.
"Come, I know a place we can hide out."
"You do?" she looked shocked. He took her hand and smiled.
"Yes, come along." He told her.
It was a cave, but someone had set it up like a cabin with a homemade bed, a stove and a hole at the top like a teepee. "Did someone live here?" she asked.
"It was once a hide-away for fur trappers in the winter to take shelter from the cold and snow. Jack and I found it some time ago and fixed it up a little. It is like a refuge for anyone needing shelter. We left it that way, so anyone in a bin
d on the trail could take shelter. Some people leave their homes, and they leave food, and comforts there for others who travel along the way. It has been a custom for some time. Come, I want to fix your boots so they will be more comfortable."
He brought branches to cover the entrance so no one would know they were there.
She sat on the edge of the makeshift bed. It was hard, but it was a bed of sorts.
"Go ahead, lay down, rest. Take your boots off so I can stuff them. I'll needs some of that petticoat of yours." He told her.
She took her boots off.
She tore some of her slip and gave it to him and he stuffed the boots as he folded the material neatly. "It will keep your foot from sliding about in the boots so much."
He took something out of a barrel and brought it for her head. It was a pillow.
"Where'd that come from?" she looked up at him as he tucked it under her head.
"Jack, he always wanted a pillow. I finally made him one."
"Are you and this Jack close?"
"He's like a second father to me, yes. He's a good man."
"Do you live with him now?"
"Sometimes. I had gone to Ridge City to sell some mustangs. I was on my way back when the storm hit. Your barn looked tempting in such a hard rain. All the lights were out, so I assumed it would be easy to sleep there until dawn at least. The lightning was really bad. I didn't expect anyone to come in before sunrise."
"I used to get up very early, I have to do my chores before I go to teach school. Are you a mustanger then?"
"At times, yes. We do it for extra money."
"Is this Jack a good miner?" she asked staring up at him.
He grinned, "We make enough."
"Why aren't you married Moon?" she asked out of the blue. "I'd expect a man your age to be married with children."
He shot her a flirty smile. "Most Indian men do not marry early in life as the white man does. An Indian must have many horses, and a way to provide for his bride. Why aren't you?"
"Maybe I'm too ugly, maybe I'm too independent, or maybe I haven't met the right man yet!" she chided.
